Oh Really? Rapper Lil Wayne Speaks on the George Zimmerman Verdict

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The rapper Lil Wayne, the man who probably disappoints me more than any hip-hop artist on the planet, took the time to tweet his thoughts on the recent “not guilty” verdict in the trial of George Zimmerman.

Even Wayne felt compelled to look out into the world to express his concerns about the case, sending this tweet:

“Tampa was amazing but kame bak to my bus and saw da news…ain’t shit change, and I may never get to see it do so. I pray 4my kids & yours,” he said.

The tweet is a nice gesture of support by the artist who doesn’t seem to care about anyone other than himself. But it’s hard to accept the sincerity of Wayne’s message, given that he didn’t show the courtesy of apologizing to the family of Emmett Till after writing a song comparing Till’s beaten face to a woman’s v@gina. If he felt that way about Emmett Till, I don’t have reason to assume that he would feel any differently about Travyon Martin or the thousands of other black male Lil Wayne fans who’ve died since Trayvon’s case began.

Wayne did eventually apologize, but only after being coerced by his former corporate overseer, Pepsico. I was happy that this relationship ended, and proud that the collective outrage from the black community and Your Black World readers led Wayne to experience direct financial consequences for his behavior. I hope this lets him know that black people are more committed than ever to fighting enemies of the community, even if they happen to be black.

I feel badly for Lil Wayne in certain ways. The man is as brilliant as the sun is bright (none of us could match his lyrical ability, that’s why he sells millions of records, we must give him that), but he has been trained by the world to use his power for evil rather than good. I’ve often compared him to what Malcolm Little was before he met the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

What Wayne has to understand is that you can’t tweet sympathies to Trayvon and his family while simultaneously disrespecting the memory of Emmett Till. Emmett Till was the original Trayvon Martin, and it is decades after Till’s death that we are reminded that young black males are the most endangered species in America.

For all of the dead homies Wayne raps about and friends that are in prison, I hope he will realize that many of these men are, like Trayvon, stuck in a criminal justice system which is h*ell bent on black male extermination. The reality is that we are never going to advance beyond this dismal period in black American history if influential men like Lil Wayne only use their powerful voices to teach young black men to kill one another and feed themselves to the prison industrial complex. Spitting regular messages glorifying murder, drug abuse and s*xual irresponsibility only darkens the futures of young black men, and Lil Wayne has signed on as a willing supporter of the black male death march that has poisoned too many souls in our community.

So Wayne, while I’m sure that the Martin family appreciates your gracious tweet, it is my greatest hope that you use this as an opportunity to reflect on how you can help our people move forward rather than putting the needs of your community in the back of the bus. Yes, you make money and yes, you have more babies’ mamas than the local hospital, but that doesn’t make you a man. It is standing up for the people you love that truly makes your life one worth living.

I’m not sure what Lil Wayne thinks of me, I assume he hates me more than his business partner Al Sharpton. But the truth is that it is actually because I love Wayne and respect his intelligence that I even waste time writing about what he has to say. Both Lil Wayne and hip-hop can be better than what they’ve become, and it’s time for black men to get our a*sses off the psychological plantation.

The rapper Lil Wayne, the man who probably disappoints me more than any hip-hop artist on the planet, took the time to tweet his thoughts on the recent “not guilty” verdict in the trial of George Zimmerman.

US rapper Lil’ Wayne has donated $200,000 to help rebuild a New Orleans Park which fell into disrepair following Hurricane Katrina.

Lil Wayne has donated nearly $300,000 to help rebuild the New Orleans, Louisiana playground he grew up in Harrell.

How must it feel to be beat down by your very own SMH!!! Pour your heart into uplifting/teaching…..

this case and ruling proves for the umpteent time that people of color especially black people here in the u.s. and around the world still after paying their dues for 1000.s of yrs.and helping to develop the so called new world still cannot get any real justice or respect from the modern day in the closet
kkk-slave masters. that sick scared and mentally insecure group of people would just love to put us back on slave plantations,hey dr.boyce forget about the ignorant and the self hating people who speak out against you,these fools are a part of the problem ok.as far as lil idiot self hating wayne,s [tweets] why should he even bother worrying about his kids future when he is constantly promoting the very same things that just might end up entraping his children and millions of other children.i say it is a fake gesture and record promotional hype on his part real and intelligent rappers like chuck d and krs one or heavy d sold millions of records without having to totally disrespect their people especially women.maybe i am missing the point or maybe for a minute i forgot that some people will do or say anything sell their ass or their souls to make a fast buck.oprah did not care about what he said on his records all miss moral cared about was he has a huge fan base and that having this self hating clown on her show would generate better [ratings ] and bigger bucks for her]it is all about money just about everything in america is predicated ] on power in any form or fashion and the once domminant almighty dollar.marcus garvey a jamacian born brother was or seemed to be the only black leader who understood that power fears and respects power ok that is why he not only preached self reliance as in start and own your own everything he also practiced what he preached which is why he was exiled.yeah ,yeah i could rant and rave about zimmerman and this bigoted justice and other racist systems in america but everyone else has done that ok. without unity ,love and respect for eachother and also self reliance we might as well go back and live on the slave plantation because it seems as though some black folks are now the new kkk and slave masters.

Please get over the Emmett Till thing. I’m not for disrespect but the pressure being used because someone says or does something others don’t agree with closely resembles censorship and censorship is dangerous to get started. Everywhere u look now somebody got something to say when people are exercising their right to freedom of speech just because they don’t agree with it. If we start this now when others want to oppress u for the things you say, where will it stop if somebody just don’t want the truth spoken. Just something to think about.

Doc I guess there are a lot of players out there that Truly don’t get the message or see the forest for the trees. Do they really think if X Elijah Muhammad or King were alive today that they would entertain anything Lil Weezy is about other than making money To Ll not some of the Lil Wayne’s in the world Congratulation you have succeeded in making Willie Lynch a success Wow !’!! Keep brother Till and Travon out of your mouth You want to respect who what?? Such a waste of talent

@Bubbles I would think Blacks are tired of walking and singing Whites love to see this type of thing today. Black need to take a stand right now when the jury were picked for Zimmerman trial,blacks should have been outrage when they pick an all white jury. This is 2013 not 1950/1960 there should never have been 5 whites on a jury, i knew he was going to walk. Black don’t open their mouth when they need to address the real issue it happen this time and it will happen again AN ALL WHITE JURY.

mruniteus,
the words you wrote are nice. ever time a situation rises such as this we come up with these great solutions. At 54 years old i see only black people come together. for a short time . Then it is the same departed and Willy Lynch laughs in his grave.

Mruniteus,
All that you have wrote is good and well . I’m 54 ears old and until a situation rises as this then every black comes up with a great solution . Is it late?? If you read Willy Lynchs speech he is laughing in his grave.

I will say blind,blind and still blind. YOu blacks folks will never see. You will continue to suffer for the end of this time. If you ever stop and ask why its because you refuse to see the truth. This only pointing out what little Wayne and the rest has been doing for years. That’s keeping the the devil busy. He going to continue destroying you and your family members. Learn the truth and follow it it will lead you to understanding this wicked world around you. The devil has many of you already hating with words against each other. Little Wayne f***k up when he made that statement about Emmett so he had to say some so he don’t lose you dumb ass from buying his self destructive m
music. Wake the f**ck up!!

These comments are utterly rediculous and might I add, still hidden behind wool. How can there be change if all our people are not united. Obviously, we have to mobilize and start with cleaning our own house! Which means, weeding out those who are not for the greater good of our races empowerment. This so called entertainer,lil Wayne is not for the betterment of his people,and the proof is in his actions and his voice. How can his words and or feelings hold weight when all his voice has done is advocate murder, drug use, sexual exploits, which by the way disrespects woman, and also glorifies gang affiliation. This is his SOP, and out of all the venom he spews, he finds a moment to humble himself. Regardless of what he does continually to rot the brains of his followers and fans. This is exactly why we can’t harness any of our power to promote change. Some of us can’t get past that our own support for individuals are misplaced. Instead, we attack those whose whole life has been dedicated to change, and continually empower ignorance. Some of us are not/cannot/will not be assets to the greater plight, and to be efficient, those have to be removed. Even some of your self marveled heroes. To make room for those who really are ready to put the work in through self sacrifice. Feel and think what you will, Wayne is not for the betterment of his people,but rather his personal agenda. Like I said, the proof is in the pudding. Don’t just hear, but LISTEN to his words!

After this verdict this can only serve as a wake up call for all black folks.Its a wake up call for black males to protect themselves at all times,seems you can’t even walk down the street without some white asshole profiling you based on a dumb stereotype,its open season on black males yet again,forget praying, forget marching,protesting is no good, now is the time to fight back.

Dr. Boyce Watkins. After reading your thoughts, I can’t help to think that you are more concerned about attacking the rapper rather than giving him credit for his comments. Isn’t the subject here thoughts of the outcome of an unfair result? What the hell does everything else have to do with anything? If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all. I personally don’t find your comments amusing. And you have a title “Dr”, shame on you. For all those that supports your thoughts, small things amuse small minds!

You’re absolutely right! Like it or not we are in the midst of Lil Wayne’s generation. Surprisingly, in the world of social media his opinion matter as well. As the youth…who’s going to to speak their language until they (youth) meet the standards of the often absent in the hood fraternities and sororities?

I COULDN’T HAVE PUT IT ANY OTHER WAY. I AGREE 200% WITH MAY. A PERSON CAN’T WIN FOR LOSING. INSTEAD OF BEING SO FOCUSED ON THE BULL, YOU SHOULD APPRECIATE THE FACT THT HE TOOK TIME TO EVEN TWEET HIS THOUGHTS……BECAUSE HE DIDN’T HAVE TO.

Though I think its horrible for little wayne to glorify insensitive/ ignorant lyrics about Emmet Till . Im am glad he tried to say something in support of Trayvon.I don’t think at this point its necessary to criticize him right now. Whats more important with our platforms is to critically analyze a plan of strategy of where do we collectively go from here after such a verminous verdict . Whats next ? The Heritage Foundation and The American Legislative Council have way more menacing power over the direction of our community than Lil wayne . My suggestion is that these organization are Elitist White male pressure points responsible bigoted legislation / policy . Federally / State level and should be exposed as racist and challenged via their corporate sponsorship .

I think it a shame that people don’t understand your comment about this Lil Wayne, I think education is the key. In order for them to understand were your coming from, its important that their educated.

I can’t believe you clowns come on here and bash Dr wakins . I think some you are trying to debunk certain stances or be a distraction troll, but I think some of you are serious. Do know he is on the f.b.I radar for his work. If he is indeed true and not a double agent he has probably had to go through a lot to.do the kind of work he is doing.

“Tampa was amazing but kame bak to my bus and saw da news…ain’t s**t change, and I may never get to see it do so. I pray 4my kids & yours,” he said”

He’s still a religious wingnut though (which imho makes him at least as damaging and oppressive as any racist), and as a committed atheist I happen to believe that praying ain’t gonna do diddly squat to end racism. (He might also try learning to use a spelcheck sometime!)

Clicked on the link to your site, maybe while you were polishing your jackboots to get them all shiny an’ nice for the next invasion of Poland it may have escaped your notice, Master “Mike”, but neo-Nazi holocaust promoters who link to their websites calling for ‘the final solution’ ain’t actually welcome ’round here – advise you haul yo’ white ass outta here while it’s still in one piece, bro;)!

As an African, I see that Black people have no place in this world, they will continue to suffer, Black men like Travyon will be murdered and continue to murdered themselves such as what is going on in Chicago and Toronto Canada. However, until Black man wake up and say enough is enough. Brother Malcolm X rightly say the house Nig. are are dangerous and they put themselves in line to protect other by killing themselves. No matter where you live in this world as long as you are black, you are nothing but a property of another man.

I hope, one day, black men will wake up and only worrying about school costs and likes. Instead of burying their young daily

Saddened by the verdict of the jury.I feel for his parents and the black community at large,No justice for Trayvon and others senselessly killed.This is a big wake up call to all America. Things have reached an all time low for all.I can only trust universal justice to handle this situation.To the jury,judge and Zimmerman whoa be unto you. Be on watch for the Karmic justice- it may grind slow but it does grind fine.I hope this serves as a binding force to the Black community at large.When a dog means more to you than a human life it tells me that you have lost your humanity an you can expect anything to happen here in America.A higher authority has dictated it to be so.

I love seeing so many black people comming together on this topic. Let’s remember this moment. Sad that it takes tragedy for our community to really come together. But better late than never. Let this be a wake up call that we need to protect our youths. It is in these times when we should remember the honorable Marcus Garvey and his message to Africans at home and a broad. “never forget your good, we live work and prey for a bounding racial hierarchy”. Also, don’t let this time be one in which anger and hatred boils in your heart and blinds our judgements. Love all men as your brother because that is who we are. Forgive but never forget. One love.

Many of us white people are in solidarity with you too, Garfield – as a lesbian radical feminist atheist transwoman I also feel the weight of oppression from the very same privileged white cismale elites who oppress me to. I’m soooo darn angry about this – right now fuck America. Sadly one thing this has also shown is that there are more racists hiding away than we think. If you find the time I’d be really proud to have you on my unashamedly liberal blog as I have had an infestation of racist white supremacist trolls just within the last hour or so. Peace brother xxx

its apparent that your point was not recognized by the sound of many of the comments; i agree we have a young man murdered in his own neighborhood for no apparent reason except he wore a hoodie and was black because of the paranoia of all of us that young black men are up to no good; it is a long ear impossible uphill climb and one way to change the public mind is to teach young men of color to achieve and behave in responsible productive ways; leadership by rappers in this effort would be powerful.

So Sad… (Now to read comments about Lil Wayne). It is okay for him to have feelings and decide to express himself about the Trayvon situation. Let’s stick to the topic of what just took place in Florida.

Why don’t we remember one thing in this society that truly makes a difference is being involved in the political process. Also a stark reminder is that being on jury duty is our civic duty so that we can pass judgment against peers in our community, and quit coming up with other excuses not to be involved in the process remember REPRESENTATION matters.

I can respect Dr. Watkin’s statements on Wayne. I’m a white conservative man, an avid reader, and a student of human nature. I don’t frequent this website, but I was curious about the opinions of the outcome of the Zimmerman trial in the black community. I found what I expected to find.. a very wide array of personalities. A few of the most influential men in my life have been men of color, and on the other hand some of the most disgraceful Americans I see in the music and fame are men of color. What I’m curious to see is when the real issue is going to surface. I carry a pistol everywhere I go, and I can tell you with all honesty, that I get protective of my family when I see a group of black guys like Wayne acting out in public.. it’s the reputation they cultivate. This is the issue we should be talking about. America obviously needs to heal from the racial divides that dishonored our country in the past, but a culture that perpetuates the kind of comments posted above and the kind of music that Wayne produces, isn’t furthering the dream that a great man once spoke of. It’s good to see a man of honor and conviction like Dr. Watkins speaking about the underlying issue. A young American man was killed for no good reason in his own neighborhood, and as a disabled vet I can’t express how much that saddens me, but how many young black men of potential died while I was writing this note? God help our country, all its people.

Do you people understand wayne carter is a entertainer? His opinion is not worth much. It is that of a purple drank guzzling rapper..george zimmerman was acting in self defense. If his head wasn’t being bashed in and he wasn’t getting ground n pounded , why was the back of his head bloodied and his nose fractured? You people fail to realize the laws are different in florida than most states. It is fight not flight. He fought and won lol.

What this verdict says is that EVERY man of color needs to be armed. Until you have EQUAL firepower you get no justice or respect. That’s how the Native Americans and Mexicans lost their country in the first place. Change is slow in coming,but it’s coming. Just remember that the insurgency in Iraq was done by only 7% of the population. It could happen here.

This man is trying to open blind eyes People like lil wayne are essential to men of color vitality in this world.for some people he is the first & only introduction to black america and im a mom sis daughter a friend student nurse etc…

Really bitch be gone this shit is bigger then wat ur talking about no matter wat Wayne feels in his music don’t mean he don’t have feelings …….smdh u fucka’s do the most shit is real out hear get ur mind right bitch I bars none an wat u talking about is out the fuckin window

Will y’all leave Lil Wayne along, he is who he is. He is gone feel however way he wants, everyone has their opinions about whatever. This could have went to ways first instead of taking all this time discussing Wayne you barely had much to say about the case cause y’all stuck on him. y’all talk bad about him when he say something bad. when he say something good you got something else to say. Wayne is a grown ass man he can tell whatever type of way he wants. second the way y’all chose to handle this was wrong put out some encouraging words for Trayvon’s mom to help her through this hard time instead of making it all about Lil Wayne change it to all about Trayvon Martin……. my prayers go out to his mom hope everything works in her favor. Amen

its time to love our own people.. so let’s forgive and get on the same page.. they want us to hate eachother.. lets get together and focus on the hateful system of race superiority, where our people are murdered because of the color of their skin

well! where shall I began? pardon the interruption on your life, but really? who has made you the answer to the current topics. right off the back, and simply put, it is guys like you who are more problems thanwhat you are worth. grow up. join and continually to do well and prosper. fathers, forgive them for there are many who will not know for what they do. you are too smart to carry on this nonsense. do you really this is constructive? not today, and it will not be appealing tomorrow either.

Are you considering yourself to be building up the black community. You are messy and one thing is true, God does not like mess. You should get your act together Mr. Boyce Watkins (the Dr. is questionable).

I agree with John. It really sound like you are focusing on the wrong thing right now and maybe you do dislike lil wayne but so what. Many people say and do dumb things but he apologized for it and paid his debt for it. Im not saying he was right but thats not important roght now. You could have simply offered sympathies for for Trayvon Martins family (whivh I didnt even see) instead of trying to bash a rapper who may say things just to sell a record but that doesnt necessarily determined that thats the person he is. Check your self and your flaws because i can point a few out but i wont because its not fair its not right and neither of us is perfect.

It’s kind of sad Dr.Watkins, that all u can write about is lil Wayne’s tweet after the verdict.. He paid for his Emmit comment dearly already.. Your article should focus more on the trial and the major things around it… Not lil Wayne and what he did a moment ago.. Focus on something better brother.. And if u feel he hates you, I do t blame him..